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Published: April 24th 2016
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It has been some time since I have used my blog!
I left Okinawa 20 days ago.
After a "Japanese" mini holiday in Yonibaru, we came back to the apartment and like mechanical people, did the final parts of leaving - visiting Docomo, having the utilities cut off, having the futons taken away, handing in the keys to the real estate agent, handing over the car to its new owner and catching a taxi to the airport! I can still remember watching the Yanibaru kuina wander in its pen in its grand enclosure, hearing kuina calls at night from our hotel near Ada, wandering on the stony beach at Aha and buying food for dinner from the Ada store. I enjoyed the view from the lighthouse down to Ada. You can see the edge of the reef in the shot. I miss the colours and the shapes of the reef edges already!
We also went walking on the north of the island at the Daisekirinzan. It was a blue sky day with just a hint of the humidity to come. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed organic vegetarian food and ginger
juice. The craggy limestone rocks reminded me much of the south of the island near Itoman, as well as parts of Italy I visited with Jacinta and her mother many years ago. I enjoyed the views out to sea. Alas my camera did no justice to the view and you have to remember it for yourself or take a walk in the limestone for yourself another day! Many Okinawans enjoyed the walks in the sun and I was delighted that there is wheelchair accessible paths and that those needing this type of assistance were using the resources provided!
A feeling of sadness still comes over me as I remember people and children who were part of my daily life in Okinawa and especially those who extended a hand of friendship and tried speaking with me in English or put up with my very poor and hesitant Japanese.
My friend Molly collected me from the Adelaide airport nearly 24 hours after I left Enobi in a taxi. It has remained warm sunny fine autumn weather here in the southern beach suburbs of Adelaide where I am staying ('couch surfing") with a very close friend. The
house is very large compared to the Midorimachi apartment. It has the 'Aldinga Scub conservation park' - a small national park across the road. This means that I get to hear and see many native birds and some animals every day. Each evening about 20 kangaroos come and graze on the dry grasses at sunset. About 5 minutes walk away is a long white sandy beach that runs for kilometres north and south of the house. I have added some photos of the path to the beach. I try not to miss a beach walk every day!
I have had a lot of sleep, and am slowly contacting my old friends. I do not feel in a rush to do things as I am on holidays until at least December; and maybe for longer! I have caught the train and bus into the city for medical and financial appointments and it is about the same time as Midorimachi to Naha but the view is firstly of the tidal estuary at Noarlunga, then the beach and after a while, the Adelaide suburbs. I can guarantee that I am still very healthy!
I have included some
photos of helping my friend on her farm up in the hills. Soon the winter will be here and it's common to use a fire to warm a house. So I collected pine cones (for starting fires) and helped stack wood inside a barn so that it is dry before our winter rains start and make it harder to have a fire with wet wood. It is probably a strange thing to think of lighting fires to keep warm for Okinawan or Japanese people. I enjoy it.
The photos at the end of the blog show for me some of the contrast between where I am now and Okinawa:
Uken beach was my local beach and I enjoyed swimming there in summer after work.
Silver Sands beach where I walk almost daily.
The view from the balcony where I am with native Autralian eucalypts and other plants
The view from the balcony at Midorimachi.
For now I will keep resting and perhaps begin to plan for later in the year. I am lucky in that many friends have offered places to 'couch surf'. I have committed
to care for the farm for part of May. So you'll probably hear more next month.
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